Galaxies trapped in supermassive black hole web – gas cosmic “spider web” expands 300 times the size of a galaxy

With the help of E.S.O.No. Very large telescope (VLT), astronomers have found six galaxies lying around the supermassive Black hole When the universe was less than a billion years old. This is the first time since then that such a close grouping has been observed The Big Bang And discovery helps us to understand how supermassive black holes, one of which is at our center Milk Ganga, Formed and therefore quickly increased their enormous size. It supports the theory that black holes can grow rapidly in large, web-like structures with plenty of gas to fuel them.

“This research was mainly driven by a desire to understand some of the most challenging astronomical objects – the supermassive black holes of the early universe. “These are extreme systems and we do not have a good understanding of their existence to date,” said Marco Mignoli, an astronomer at the National Institute for Astrophysics (IAANF) in Bologna, Italy, and lead author of a new study published in Astronomy. Astrophysics.

With the help of ESO’s very large telescope (VLT), astronomers have discovered six galaxies around a supermassive black hole. This is the first time such a close group has been observed in the first billion years of the universe. The artist’s imprint shows the central black hole and the constellations trapped in its gas web. The black hole, which together with the disk around it is known as Quasar SDSS 103027.09 + 052455.0, shines brightly as it contains the objects around it. Credit: ESO / L. Kaleda

New observations with ESO’s VLT have revealed a number of galaxies surrounding a supermassive black hole, all of which lie in the cosmic “spider’s web” of gas, 300 times the size of a galaxy. “Universe web filaments are like spider web threads,” Mignoli explains. “The galaxies stand and grow where the fibers cross, and the flow of gas – which is available to fuel both the galaxies and the central supermassive black hole – can flow along the fibers.”

The light of this giant web-like formation, with its black hole of one billion solar masses, has traveled to us since the time the universe was only 0.9 billion years old. Roberto Gilli, co-author of IAANF in Bologna, says, “Extreme, yet relatively abundant creations and growth, working very quickly after the Big Bang, are an important part of our work.” , Refers to a supermassive black hole.

The very first black hole, believed to have formed from the fall of the first stars, must have evolved too fast to reach a billion solar masses in the first 0.9 billion years of life in the universe. But astronomers have struggled to explain how much “black hole fuel” could be available to enable these objects to evolve to such enormous quantities in such a short time. The newly-discovered formation provides a possible explanation: there is enough gas to supply fuel to the “spider’s web” and the galaxies inside it that the central black hole needs to quickly become a supermassive giant.

But how did such huge web-like creations come about in the first place? Astronomers believe that huge halos of mysterious dark objects are the main ones. These large regions of invisible matter are thought to attract large amounts of gas into the early universe; Together, gas and invisible dark matter form web-like formations where galaxies and black holes can evolve.

“Our findings support the idea that most distant and large black holes grow and grow inside large black objects in large-scale structures, and the absence of previous investigations of such constructions may be due to observation limitations,” says Colin. Norman Rman of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, is also the co-author of the study.

This video sequence initially zooms in on the web of supermassive black holes found in the early universe with six galaxies. Credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / N. Risinger (SkySurvey.org.)

The galaxies that have been discovered so far are somewhat obscure that current telescopes can observe. This discovery requires several hours of observations using ESO’s largest optical telescopes available, including VLT. Using Muse And playing Force 2 on the VLT at ESO’s Paranormal Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the team confirmed the link between six four galaxies and a black hole. “We believe we’ve seen the top of the iceberg, and some of the galaxies we’ve discovered so far around this supermassive black hole are just bright people,” said Barbara Balamwarde, an IAANF astronomer co-author in Torino, Italy.

These results contribute to our understanding of how supermassive black holes and giant cosmic structures form and evolve. The AD Extreme Larley Telescope, currently under construction in Chile, will be able to construct this research using its powerful instruments by observing many more obscure galaxies around large black holes in the early universe.

Reference: “Giant Web: Z = 6.31 Quars SDSS J Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Large Scale Structure Around 1030 + 0524” , Andrea Comastry, Felice Cusano, Kazushi Ivasa, Stefano Marchesi, Isabella Prandoni, Cristian Vignali, Fabio Vito, Giovanni Zamorani, Marco Chiaburg and Colin Norman, 1 October 2020, Astronomy and Astrophysics.
DOI: 10.1051 / 0004-6361 / 202039045

The team includes M. Mignoli (IANF, Bologna, Italy), R. Gili (IANF, Bologna, Italy), r. Decarly (IAANF, Bologna, Italy), e. Vanzella (IAANF, Bologna, Italy), made of bean. . Balamwarde (IAANF, Pino Torinis, Italy), n. Capluti (Department of Physics, University of Miami, Florida, USA), l. Saffron 2 (IANF, Milano, Italy), A.Comastry (IANF, Bologna, Italy), F Cusano (IAANF, Bologna, Italy), k. Ivasa (ICCUB, University de Barcelona and ICREA, Barcelona, ​​Spain), s. Marchesi (IAANF, Bologna, Italy), i. Prandoni (IANF, Instituto de Radiostronomia, Bologna), Italy), c. Vignali (Depimento de Fisica e Astronomia, University of Digli Studi di Bologna, Italy and IAANF, Bologna, Italy), f. Vito (Scuola Normale Superior, Pisa, Italy), g. Zamorani (IAANF, Bologna, Italy), m. Chiaberg (Space Telescope Science Institute, Maryland, USA), c. Norman (Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA).

ESO is the leading intergovernmental astronomical organization in Europe and the world’s most productive land-based astronomical observation ever. It has 16 member countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Australia with Australia. ESO conducts an ambitious program focusing on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observation facilities, enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and planning cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class monitoring sites in Chile: La Sila, Paranal and Chagentor. In Paran, the ESO has a very large telescope and its world-leading very large telescope interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VSTAC working in infrared. And visible-light VLT. The survey operates the telescope. Also at Paranal will be hosted and operated by ESO Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO Chagentor, Apex and. But is also a major partner in two facilities Alma, The largest astronomical project in existence. And on the Cerro Armazones near Paranal, ESO is building a 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope, ELT, which will become “the world’s largest look at the sky.”